California State Tax Archives - Page 10 of 10

Franchise Tax Board Lawyer Hiring Criteria

April 23, 2026December 28, 2013 by Brotman Law

First, I want to state that I don’t believe everyone needs a franchise tax board lawyer to handles their California state tax issues. One of the main reasons that I started blogging was to help people. I wanted to motivate “self-help” style legal solutions by taking the knowledge that I had an as an attorney and making it available on the web. Indeed, if you take the time to read much of what I have written on the blog, you can almost become as knowledgeable as I am on many of these same subjects (although I have an experience edge dealing with this stuff in practice).

Key Takeaways

First, I want to state that I don’t believe everyone needs a franchise tax board lawyer to handles their California state tax issues. One of the main reasons that I started blogging was to help people.
However, I am cognizant of the fact that there are some situations where it is beneficial to hire a franchise tax board lawyer to handle your California state tax issues.
When asked what I believe the number one hiring criteria for selecting a lawyer, even more than a person’s experience, education, or pedigree, I believe it is the rapport that the client has with the lawyer.

Tips for Franchise Tax Board Audits

April 23, 2026December 27, 2013 by Brotman Law

In my previous article on the Franchise Tax Board audit, I talked about the importance of pre-auditing the tax return in question in order to identify any issues before your first meeting with the Franchise Tax Board auditor. In this article, I will discuss another advantage of pre-auditing a return, the importance of the presentation of records in general, and the importance of your relationship with the auditor in order to gain successful outcomes in Franchise Tax Board audits.

Key Takeaways

Pre-auditing the return also has the added advantage of getting all your books and records organized and ready for the auditor prior to the audit. Appearances are very important in Franchise Tax Board audits as it helps to set the tone of an audit.
Speaking of good relationships, it is always important to keep the golden rule of Franchise Tax Board audits in mind: you win always win more flies with honey than with vinegar during the course of an audit.
I hope this series of articles has been helpful in providing you with some perspective on Franchise Tax Board audits. If you have any questions or if I can further assist you, please contact me directly via the information contained on this website.

Franchise Tax Board Audit Tips

April 23, 2026December 27, 2013 by Brotman Law

Throughout my years of practice, I have developed a few helpful tips for dealing with a Franchise Tax Board audit and auditors from the state of California. Franchise Tax Board audits are not nearly as common these days. Most of my clients who receive contact from the Franchise Tax Board are contacted after they are subject to an IRS audit and merely sent a bill based on the adjustment in taxable income that the IRS has already calculated. In other words, they let the IRS do all the hard work and send a supplemental bill later on. However, I hope that these few helpful tips will guide you in your dealings with the Franchise Tax Board. For more information on California state tax matters, please visit the Franchise Tax Board attorney services section of my website.

Key Takeaways

Throughout my years of practice, I have developed a few helpful tips for dealing with a Franchise Tax Board audit and auditors from the state of California. Franchise Tax Board audits are not nearly as common these days.
Keep in mind that the purpose of a Franchise Tax Board audit is to “effectively and efficiently determine the correct amount of tax based on an analysis of relevant tax statutes, regulations, and case law as applied to the taxpayer’s facts”.
Next, it is important to control the flow of information and how that information is communicated to the Franchise Tax Board.

Why Retain a Sales Tax Attorney for your Collections Matter?

April 23, 2026December 1, 2013 by Brotman Law

Why I Believe You Should Retain a Sales Tax Attorney for Your Board of Equalization Collections Matter?

Although I am generally a big proponent of self-help legal solutions, I am also cognizant of the situations that require the assistance of an experienced sales tax attorney. One of the areas where I feel sales tax attorney representation is essential, not just an option, in the in areas of sales tax collection matters. Given the difficulty that I have encountered in practice when taxpayers try to handle their own Board of Equalization collection matters and the rigidity of the Board of Equalization, I would recommend hiring a sales tax attorney for the following general reasons.

Key Takeaways

Although I am generally a big proponent of self-help legal solutions, I am also cognizant of the situations that require the assistance of an experienced sales tax attorney.
There are two sides to a sales tax collections matter: the assessment phase and the collections phase.
On the other end of the spectrum, when it comes to collections, Board of Equalization collections officers have a reputation for being the most inflexible and the most aggressive when it comes to taking action against a past due account.

Sales Tax Audit: An Overview

April 23, 2026December 1, 2013 by Brotman Law

An Overview of a Sales Tax Audit

A sales tax audit has key differences from a regular audit. First, the scope of the audit looks at a business’s gross receipts and various ways of measuring gross receipts. The businesses that are most frequently subject to sales tax audit include bars, restaurants, retail stores, manufacturers, wholesalers, services businesses that sell goods, and a variety of others.

Key Takeaways

A sales tax audit has key differences from a regular audit. First, the scope of the audit looks at a business’s gross receipts and various ways of measuring gross receipts.
Throughout their years of practice, sales tax auditors have developed ways of determining gross receipts that are innovative and industry specific.
The Board of Equalization sometimes feels that these methods are more telling than a standard gross receipts test.

Throughout their years of practice, sales tax auditors have developed ways of determining gross receipts that are innovative and industry specific. For example, if the business audited were a coin-operated laundromat, the Board of Equalization may measure water consumption levels for the business against the number of washing machines it has. Pour tests are common for restaurant and bars (the amount of alcohol used to make each drink) and inventory audits are common for other types of businesses.